Q. When did BNLX start? Tell us about the history..
We started a little over 5 years ago. We initially planned to just do a couple of handmade EP’s and play a few shows, but we started having so much fun that we’ve now turned into a real band. Prior to being in BNLX, I was in a band called Polara (the US one, not the Brazilian one!). We were a psychedelic/post-shoegaze type of band that put out four records on Interscope and another two on Susstones.

Q: Who are your influences?
We all listen to a lot of different stuff and have big record collections. But for purposes of what makes BNLX sound like BNLX, core “classic” influences would be: The Jesus and Mary Chain, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Spacemen 3/Spiritualized, New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, Wire, Primal Scream, Can, early Pink Floyd, Gang of Four.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We LOVE playing live! We have developed our own ever-evolving, self-designed lightshow. We try to create a totally immersive live experience. The band is quite high energy live. I’ve been told we’re super loud as well, which is pretty necessary to convey the sort of music we’re creating. To us, live music is a physical experience as well as an intellectual and emotional one.

Q. How do you describe BNLX sounds?
The earliest BNLX material was very postpunk-influenced. As we’ve developed, we’ve started to indulge more of our spaced-out psych instincts, and we’ve also gotten a little dancier. For us, the fun is creating a balance between experimental sounds and melody, seeing how much we can get away with in the context of a three minute pop tune. We use a wide range of gear, including a lot of vintage synths and pedals, to try to create the coolest sounds we can think up.

Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
We record everything at our own studio here in Minneapolis (http://flowersstudio.com). We tend to write really quickly, often in response to political or social situations, and we keep the recording process as spontaneous as possible. The studio is our laboratory, and we generally record material before we’ve played it live. We feel this keeps material fresher for us, with the energy of a new idea getting captured rather than trying to refine songs on the road before recording.

I’m a record producer/engineer as my “day job”, and Flowers Studio is a professional studio with SSL console, Studer 24 track, Pro Tools HDX, and a mountain of recording gear and instruments. I do a lot of mixing/remixing for bands from all over, and I’m always looking for new projects, particularly in the psych/noisepop/dreampop sonic spectrum. Give me a shout if anyone you know wants to work on cool stuff!

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
We’ve done a lot of cover versions already: Can, Black Flag, JAMC, Pink Fairies, also non-serious stuff like Lana Del Rey, Prince, and Rihanna. We love the idea of doing totally new and strange things to songs.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
Ashley (bassist/co-leader of BNLX) and I just had our first child, so we’ve been on a little bit of a break during 2016. In 2017 we plan on getting back on the road and releasing another full-length album. We also have a couple of side projects in the works, so keep an eye out for for BNLX and related projects on our social media. We’d really like to tour Europe and South America in 2017, so if anyone knows of any agents who might be into what we’re doing, please email us!

Q: Any parting words?
Thanks for writing about us on the blog, I’ve been reading it for years and have found out about a lot of cool music here! We hope people enjoy our tunes, and everyone who does should shoot us an email or “like” us on Facebook, etc. so we can keep you informed on what we have coming up in 2017.
*
*
*
Thanks